Russian Trip
July 2002.
Russia was not our first choice for travel this year. We had planned to go to India but were advised not to do so by our government due to a growing threat of war between India and Pakistan. When the literature from SmarTours describing a cruise on the Volga River crossed our desk we were immediately intrigued. Russia was a place neither of us had visited. Tom had taught a unit on Russia in his classroom and Marie was fascinated with Russian history, especially the time of the tsars. We both wanted to see the Hermitage at St. Petersburg and sights in Moscow that we see on the news -- Red Square, Lenin's tomb, the Kremlin, etc. There is nothing like seeing something in person and experiencing a bit of the culture firsthand to bring news events to heightened awareness.
In retrospect it turned out to be the best trip so far. This was our first trip with SmarTours so we didn't know exactly what to expect. It was better than we could have hoped for. It was the most relaxed time we have ever been in our travels. Cruising on the lakes and rivers was quite different from an ocean cruise. The entertainment was of a higher caliber than that which we had experienced with other trips and the pace was perfect. We spent the better part of two weeks without TV, radio, telephone, newspapers or ATM machines and in the company of the best traveling companions anyone could ever hope for. It was wonderful!!
The trip consisted of several days each in St. Petersburg and Moscow and a cruise between the two major cities with stops at various points of historic and cultural interest. Looking at the map you can follow our route from St. Petersburg up the Neva River (via Mondraga) to the top of Onega Lake where the UNESCO open air museum, Kizhi Island, is located ; then south to Goritzi and further south to Yaroslavl. Next we traveled to Kostroma and back-tracked to Uglich before ending our trip in Moscow. (You can click on any of the above mentioned cities to go directly to those destinations on our trip.)
Some of those names meant nothing to us before our trip. Now when we hear the names they conjure up images and memories that we will have forever.
We hope that you will enjoy our travels vicariously, as we reminisce.
Prior to the trip our travel literature warned us that we should be patient and maintain a sense of humor. According to our guide, " -- the tourism infrastructure in Russia is still in development stages and rather limited." In addition, we were informed that "You'll find that a polite approach goes a long way, while a demanding or condescending attitude may not. Good manners will help make you an Ambassador of Goodwill and a positive attitude will assure your enjoyment. You may have read about the spreading crime in some of the larger urban areas of Russia. while you will be spending limited time in those areas, please exercise caution and care and whenever in doubt, ask your tour director." An aside regarding that last statement, ironically, we had no safety issues until returning to JFK airport where we were sideswiped by a hit-and-run limo driver as we attempted to exit the airport property!
In retrospect we only know of one incidence of theft experienced by our group. That was on our last day of the tour when we had visited the Moscow Circus. As we were leaving with the vast throng, one in our party had her purse open on her shoulder with her rubles clearly visible. When she arrived back at the bus her rubles were missing. Of course, as she said herself, that was carelessness on her part and could have happened anywhere.
One thing that did make us nervous was the directive that we take only cash. Our meals were all included in the price of the tour but we would need cash for other expenses, including tips. On board we could us only rubles to pay for purchases, including souvenirs which were of higher quality and more inexpensive than most tourist areas we visited; extra food or drink items, including drinking water and DIET COKE, of course; postage stamps, postcards, etc. The cruise ship accepted no charges, no travelers checks (which we stopped using years ago anyway) and had no ATM machines onboard. So we made certain that we had several pouches, belts and other hidden compartments where we could keep our money, passports, visas, and plane tickets on our person at all times, securely and without too much bulk. Our travel literature suggested that each person bring $400-500 US in small denominations for use during the trip which would cover tipping and all optional tours, and other expenses, including all souvenirs. Of course we took a bit more and had no idea what we would want to buy. (There is a maximum of $1500 allowed per person.)
In addition, we were advised to bring non-perishable snacks and plenty of film, since we wouldn't be able to get the same quality in Russia. A humorous aside is that many in our group brought all kinds of food. Some had cans of tuna, instant soups, and complete meals. Others brought crackers, pretzels, and candy of all sizes and shapes. At the end of the trip most of us gave our snacks to our guides and/or ship's crew or brought it back home, as the quality of food wasn't nearly as bad as we had expected. Finally, we were advised to bring our own toilet paper since we might find the local paper a bit rough for our tender American bottoms. We did so but found that it wasn't necessary. Either our behinds aren't as sensitive as some, the paper was better than expected, or we just considered it all part of the travel experience.
On arriving in St. Petersburg we were greeted at the airport by our guides and representatives from our boat, the M/S Mayakovski. They herded us to antiquated buses and told us that we would be going to a hotel in town for a couple of hours to get rubles at the exchange counter there, since we would have to pay for everything in rubles on the boat. We had already exchanged some US$ for rubles at JFK and were still confused as we had been told that most people prefer US$. As best we can read it, the "official" currency is rubles and merchants are supposed to take only them BUT most people prefer US$. So we played it by ear, asking each person what they preferred or would be willing to take. Meanwhile, we knew that we would need rubles on board and might not be able to get more cash until we reached Moscow so we used the ATM machine (the first of only two we found on our trip) to get a little extra cash.
While waiting to go to the boat, we decided to explore the neighborhood around the hotel. After a few blocks we saw a department store and decided to look around. We found a section selling dolls and purchased one for our granddaughter at a better price than we found anywhere else in our travels.
After leaving the store we decided we were hunger and looked for a place to get a snack before returning to our group. We found a sidewalk cafe and began tentatively to see what they offered. We quickly discovered they sold diet Coke. A display case at the counter showed a number of things that looked like sweet rolls. We pointed to one, but the pleasant salesclerk shook her head "no" and pointed to another variety. After having it warmed in the microwave we sat down and took our first hesitant bites. Surprise.....it was filled with sauerkraut, but it was delicious. The kindness of the young salesgirl and the tasty snack were an omen for the pleasant time awaiting us in Russia.
We were also told that "frankly" the main reason for our delay was that the boat was not ready for us since it had just dispensed the tourists from the last cruise and would have to be cleaned before we could go aboard. That was our first slice of honesty, openness, and humor that we experienced from our charming, intelligent, and capable guides, Luba and Galya. Since this was a tour, and we wouldn't be travelling on our own, as we prefer to do, so that we can be alone among the people of the country we are visiting, having the guides we did was the next best thing.
Luba and Galya had excellent command of English and throughout the trip they were educational, entertaining, and patient, even under the most trying circumstances. Through them we learned a great deal about how people in Russia live and the changes since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Both shared personal experiences that greatly enhanced our understanding of the culture, recent history and political climate of the country. We felt that the two of them gave us an honest slice of Russia and did not just give the standard party line lectures
In addition to Luba and Galya, who stayed with us throughout our trip, we had local guides in each of the areas we visited. With few exceptions their English was impeccable, they displayed a wonderful sense of humor, they were down-to-earth and were quite educational. All were women. While our local guides in the smaller cities were all delightful and "real," our local guides in St. Petersburg and Moscow gave us tons of information but it often felt like the very official standard spiel. We will talk more about them later.
M/S MAYAKOVSKI
The Mayakovski is a boat that was built in the 1970s and refurbished in 2000. Vladamir Mayakovski, her namesake, was a founder of the futurist literary movement in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. He was a celebrated writer who eventually turned his talent to supporting the Stalinist government. He became disenchanted with the system and committed suicide in 1930 at age 36. We were told by our guides that he was a famous writer during the rule of Stalin. All the interesting details of his life were left out.
The boat was celebrating its 10th year as a cruise ship. It holds about 250 passengers and during our cruise it was filled to capacity with tourists from 10 countries. We much preferred this size to the huge ocean liners with which we were familiar.We 78 Americans were to share all of our adventures with a Danish group.We likened conditions in our cabin to that of camping in a travel trailer. It was small, compact, comfortable enough and well organized. All cabins had outside windows so we could see views along the river banks and in the 18 locks we would traverse throughout our cruise.
When we arrived in our cabin, we found wool(?) blankets at the foot of each bed. They seemed a bit rough and we moved them aside. Later we discovered that many of our shipmates developed horrible, burning rashes on their legs. They were told by the ships doctor that it was an allergic reaction to the plastic in the cabins and that the cleaning women also have the same problem.We were lucky and escaped that problem but wondered later if it had something to do with the blankets. The plastic theory just didn't make sense to us. But we will never know---
ENTERTAINMENT
The entertainment on this trip was the best of any trip we have taken. It was higher class and less frenetic than the mini-Las Vegas style entertainment popular on large cruise ships. The musicians and dance troupe who accompanied us were authentic and first-class in our estimation.. The pianist had quite a repertoire that included a jazz concert that pleased Tom, the jazz aficionado, as well as classical and more contemporary and popular numbers. The violinist was the concert master of the Perm symphony. One of our favorite moments was cruising along the river with spectacular views of Russian Orthodox churches with their colorful, magnificent onion domes while the violinist was playing Ave Maria. The dance troupe performed folk dances nightly with an energy level that was dizzying. All this was without pretension or forced frivolity.
On land, highlights included an impressive performance of "Swan Lake" and a Cossack show in St. Petersburg, both of which surprised and delighted us. Since we were unable to take pictures at the performance of the ballet we offer a copy of the ticket for you to get an idea of the production. We had expected something that was put together for tourists but these both seemed like the real thing. We were to learn from one of our guides much later in the trip that many Russians cannot stand to hear or see "Swan Lake". This is due to memories from the overthrow of Gorbachev in August of 1991. We were told that while the whole world was hearing about the events of the coup via CNN, Russians could only view Swan Lake on TV and hear the music from Swan Lake on the radio. They were completely cut off from knowing what was going on in their country as the Soviet Union was crumbling.
The Moscow Circus was mesmerizing and it was especially delightful to share it with Russian families with their little children and watch the joy on their faces.
On a less formal note we were often greeted as we disembarked and sent-off as we embarked with jazz ensembles and sometimes small brass bands playing American songs, with a lot of John Phillip Sousa and in at least one case, our National Anthem. That was a great deal of fun for us, and it seemed to us for the musicians. Another highlight was the a cappella singing in the Orthodox churches that included both religious and folk songs.
Throughout the cruise we were offered lectures and open discussions about the history, culture, art, crafts and politics of the country. Lessons were available for learning a bit of Russian. Other events on board included the screening of "Anna Karenina" and "Dr. Zhivago." Both were a good backdrop for this trip.
FOOD
Food was much better than we expected early in the trip but deteriorated as we neared the end of our voyage.Although we had complimentary champagne on several occasions and vodka was also served at a few meals, we had to buy drinking water at about a dollar a bottle. We were served caviar on three separate occasions, but since our tastebuds are not developed enough to appreciate this delicacy, we passed on it. So did everyone else at our table. We especially liked the salads, fresh vegetables and interesting soups. Only once did we have borsht and a table mate assured us that she could make it better! At our table of 6 we bantered about the myriad ways that carrots were served and expected to see them somewhere in each meal, excluding breakfast. That meal was typical European fare which we have found throughout our travels -- cheese, dry breads, yogurt, lunch meat, cereals, juice, undercooked watery scrambled eggs. After a few days of eating a sit-down breakfast, Marie opted to take that time to walk and run on the deck while it was empty of fellow tourists.
ST. PETERSBURG
St. Petersburg, the capital of Czarist Russian, is a city that was built because of the iron will of one man -- Tsar Peter the Great -- and the labor and sacrifices of tens of thousands of Russian workers. Peter's goals in constructing the city, founded in 1703, were to demonstrate the new power of Russia and to turn its future towards the west. The famous stature on the left clearly emphasizes those goals -- Peter, facing westward, riding a rearing horse atop the crest of a wave.
A primary tourist attraction in St. Petersburg is the Hermitage, located in the Winter Palace, and made up of several separate museums, each displaying the opulence of the tsars. Our guidebook indicates that it houses 2,800,000 items. The collection was begun by Peter the Great and, two generations later, Catherine the Great created the Hermitage to display these works of art. We toured three of the museums. The buildings themselves, in various stages of renovation, were themselves great works of art. This is the place in Russia that many people say they want to come back to again and again. It is so vast and impressive. However, for Tom it also was a reminder of the sacrifices of the poor. Here our tour guide was quite defensive. Tom asked her where they got the money to build the Hermitage and supply it with the hundreds of priceless art objects. She responded that it was a very wealthy country, mined lots of gold and other valuable minerals and that the people were not exploited to support the lifestyle of the nobility. She made statements in defense of the class system and said it exists the same way all over the world. She obviously was quite offended by the question, even though it was not meant to offend. Another member of our group asked, "Since the communist regime oppressed religion, why were all of these religious paintings saved?" Again she was offended by the question and simply stated that they were great works of art.
Because of the throngs of people inside the Heritage it was impossible to take good pictures. Therefore the two inside scenes above are from postcards.
There seems to be much ambivalence in Russia about the changes begun by Gorbachev. They have had immense economic and political impacts. For many older Russians the effects have been very unsettling. From the secure, if low paying jobs, under communism has come the uncertainty of a much freer market. Just one example is the problem with getting a home. Many don't understand why the government no longer supplies their housing for them. It is quite expensive to buy a home which must be paid for in cash up front. There are no mortgages. If one is contracting to build a home it requires half of the purchase price before the building is begun. And the building could take a long time.
On the other hand, many Russians(including organized crime) have taken enthusiastically to the new system and have found many creative ways to make a living. In the photo, a man is selling all sorts of hats out of the trunk of his car, while an elderly woman is depending on the kindness of strangers. We saw elderly women begging throughout the country.
The "Church of the Fallen Blood" is one of the more famous sights in St. Petersburg. It is where one of the tsars was assassinated. It was the introduction to us of the many brilliantly colored Russian Orthodox churches we would see throughout Russia. We were amazed that so many were so well preserved, given the years of the communist oppression of religion. Our guides explained to us that not just Christianity was oppressed but all religions. Our one guide was a Tartar and a practicing Muslim, who told us that her family continued to be practicing Muslims throughout the years of communism. We heard of Christians and others who continued to actively observe their faith. During that time the churches were converted to museums, state buildings and served other purposes -- even as warehouses and stables. Seeing these magnificent buildings reaching to the heavens was awe-inspiring and seemed a testament to people's resilience and hope.
Outside the city, in Pushkin, is the Catherine Palace, which served as a summer palace. It was a gift to Peter's second wife Catherine I. It is opulent inside and out.
After Peter the Great died in 1725, without naming an heir, the Romanov line was a bit messy and weak until Catherine the Great (Catherine II) came along, married Peter the Great's weak grandson, and after arranging for his overthrow, assumed the top position herself.in 1762.
Catherine the Great is credited with being the strongest ruler after Peter the Great. The German-born Catherine was one the the most intriguing rulers in Russian history and biographies of her make for very interesting reading. What an interesting life she led. In addition to the many palaces she maintained for her personal use, she had a habit of building a palace for each of her favorite lovers who numbered not just a few. In fact she had an assistant whose full-time job was to test the virility of perspective lovers to make certain they were acceptable.As we drove along the Neva River into town from the dock we had a good view of the cruiser Aurora, moored on the far side of the river It was the cruiser from which the blank shot was fired to signal the storming of the winter palace at the beginning of the Russian Revolution. That was something Tom had hoped to see close up and but, alas, there was no time. We also had a view of the Finland Station. In 1917, Germany arranged for Lenin to return to Russia (in a sealed railroad car) in hopes that he would stir up trouble in Russia and weaken its war efforts.
In a quick tour around the city we also saw the laboratory where Pavlov studied and conducted his famous experiments in conditioned reflex. Marie wished that she could have had a more up-close view and tour but time constraints prevented it.
Oh well, as we are fond of saying, "Next time!"
Another stop in St. Petersburg was a store selling high quality Russian arts and crafts. Above is a matrushka, (or matryoshka) an example of the famous nested dolls. They were first created 100 years ago according to our one lecturer. The one above is museum quality and the pictures we took could not capture the brilliant colors or gold ornamentation. The shops throughout Russia were full of matrushka, as well as other forms of folk art, all at reasonable prices. In searching the web we found various conflicting stories regarding the history, origin, and materials for constructing the dolls, so we will leave it up to you to do that research if so desired. Suffice it to say that the ones we bought brought joy and hours of entertainment to the children and adults we gifted with them.
Throughout our trip we were introduced to many Russian arts and crafts and jewelry and linen We found the best quality and best prices were in the shop on our boat and we were educated about the various hand crafted items in several lectures by our lovely shop attendants.
A very pleasant surprise was the number, quality and variety of inexpensive souvenirs that we ended up purchasing -- not our usual style.
As we left St. Petersburg we vowed to come back and visit on our own. Meanwhile we settled on the boat for a leisurely cruise and ready to explore the smaller cities and towns, hoping to get a feel for how the people live. As in St. Petersburg, we would experience "white nights" for awhile until turning further south. We had been pleasantly disconcerted to find it still light when we left the performance of Swan Lake around 11:00 PM and saw many people out strolling in the parks and on the streets. We became accustomed to the long, long days where it was still light when we went to bed and light when we arose, no matter how early that was. Here is a sunset that we captured around midnight several days into the trip.
Our first stop along the way was Mondraga.
On to Mondraga and Kizhi Island
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